Himiko (queen)

Himiko
Portrait by Yukihiko Yasuda, 1968
Queen of Yamataikoku
Reign	189 AD – 248 AD (59 years)
Successor	Iyo
Born	c. 170 AD Yamatai, Japan
Died	248 AD (aged 70–80) Japan
Burial	Hashihaka Kofun (箸墓古墳?) (Nara, Japan)

Himiko or Pimiko (卑弥呼, c. 170–248 AD) was a shaman queen of Yamataikoku in ancient Wa (Japan). Early Chinese dynastic histories chronicle tributary relations between Queen Himiko and the Cao Wei Kingdom (220–265), and record that the Yayoi period people chose her as ruler following decades of warfare among the kings of Wa. Early Japanese histories do not mention Himiko, but historians associate her with legendary figures such as Empress Consort Jingū, who was Regent (c. 200–269) in roughly the same era as Himiko. Scholarly debates over the identity of Himiko and the location of her domain Yamatai have raged since the late Edo period, with opinions divided between northern Kyūshū or traditional Yamato province in present-day Kinki. "The Yamatai controversy", writes Keiji Imamura (1996:188), is "the greatest debate over the ancient history of Japan."

The shaman Queen Himiko is recorded in various ancient histories, dating back to 3rd century China, 8th century Japan, and 12th century Korea.

The first historical records of Himiko are found in a Chinese classic text, the c. 297 Records of Three Kingdoms (Sanguo Zhi 三國志). Its "Records of Wei" (Wei Zhi 魏志), which covers the Cao Wei kingdom (220-265) history, has a Worenzhuan (倭人傳 "Account of the Wa People", Japanese Wajinden 倭人伝) section with the oldest description of Himiko (or Pimiko 卑彌呼) and Yamatai.

The people of Wa [倭人] dwell in the middle of the ocean on the mountainous islands southeast of [the prefecture of] Tai-fang. They formerly comprised more than one hundred communities. During the Han dynasty, [Wa envoys] appeared at the Court; today, thirty of their communities maintain intercourse [with us] through envoys and scribes. (tr. Tsunoda 1951:8)